EMPACT 2024-2025, Europe united against the most dangerous criminal networks: over 1.279 arrests, 977 international investigations and 27 tons of drugs seized

Italy is a leading player in the European fight against transnational organized crime: 32 operational plans are coordinated, involving 50 countries. From combating drug trafficking to cryptocurrencies to migrant smuggling, the European Union is strengthening its common front against high-risk criminal organizations.

Organized crime no longer knows borders. Large criminal organizations operate simultaneously in dozens of countries, employ increasingly sophisticated technologies, exploit artificial intelligence, launder billions of euros through international financial networks, and infiltrate the legal economy with unprecedented speed. Faced with this evolution, the response of European institutions has also changed pace.

This is the meaning of EMPACT (European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats) , the main European Union platform dedicated to fighting serious and organised crime, which the Council of the EU today considers the most important European operational tool in the fight against transnational criminal threats.

The Council of the European Union has published the results of the 2024-2025 cycle of the High Risk Criminal Networks (HRCN) priority , dedicated to the criminal networks most dangerous to European security, highlighting figures that confirm the growing effectiveness of international cooperation.

Italy played a leading role, leading the priority together with Belgium, Austria, and Spain through the Department of Public Security – Central Directorate of Criminal Police of the Ministry of the Interior, coordinating 32 Operational Actions targeting the most dangerous criminal organizations.

Europe against global mafias

Modern criminal networks are very different from traditional organizations.

As both the EMPACT report and the in-depth analyses published by the Italian State Police highlight, contemporary criminal organizations now operate like true multinational criminal enterprises. They are simultaneously present on multiple continents, investing in the legal economy, and leveraging cryptocurrencies, digital platforms, encrypted communication systems, and artificial intelligence tools to increase their operational capacity.

The main characteristics identified by European analysts are:

• global presence;
• infiltration into the legal economy;
• international money laundering;
• systematic use of corruption and violence;
• use of the most advanced technologies.

It is precisely this transformation that has made a model of permanent cooperation between all Member States indispensable.

What is EMPACT?

EMPACT was born as the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats , a multidisciplinary platform that coordinates investigations, border controls, judicial cooperation, customs activities, specialist training and technological innovation.

The goal is to overcome the fragmentation of national investigative activities by building a truly European investigative community in which intelligence, databases, criminal analysis, and operational capabilities are shared daily.

Alongside the 27 Member States, numerous European agencies participate, including:

• Europol;
• Eurojust;
• Frontex;
• CEPOL;
• European Commission.

International public and private partners are also involved.

Italy at the center of international cooperation

The HRCN priority for the 2024-2025 cycle was led by Italy together with Belgium, Austria and Spain.

The Italian coordination saw the participation of:

• State Police;
• Carabinieri Corps;
• Financial Police;
• National Anti-Mafia Directorate;
• Direzione Centrale della Polizia Criminale.

Investigative and judicial authorities from 50 countries also cooperated , including the 27 European Union member states and 23 non-EU countries , including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Ukraine.

The numbers of the European operation 2024-2025

The findings published by the Council of the European Union testify to the intensity of the coordinated investigative activities.

In the two-year period the following were recorded:

• 1.279 arrests, of which 736 in 2024 and 543 in 2025;
• 977 new international investigations;
• 171 Action Days, large police operations coordinated simultaneously in multiple countries;
• 27 tons of drugs seized, including over 14 tons of cocaine;
• over 9 million euros in cash seized;
• virtually 83 million euros in cryptocurrencies confiscated.

These results were achieved thanks to continuous investigative coordination between police authorities, judiciaries, European agencies, and international partners.

Intelligence, training and prevention

EMPACT's work is not limited to field operations.

In parallel with the investigations, the following were produced:

• 399 criminal analysis reports, dedicated above all to the infiltration of organised crime into the legal economy;
• 128 strategic conferences and workshops;
• 13 specialized courses organized together with the European agency CEPOL.

The aim is to create a common pool of investigative expertise, increasing Member States' capacity to recognize and counter new criminal threats.

Vittorio Pisani: "International cooperation is the most effective weapon."

During the presentation of the results, the Chief of Police and Director General of Public Security, Prefect Vittorio Pisani, emphasized how organized crime is now a fully transnational phenomenon.

"Today's conference isn't just about celebrating the results achieved. It's an opportunity to highlight how international cooperation is the most effective tool for combating increasingly transnational organized crime, capable of operating without borders and exploiting new technologies to fuel illicit trafficking that affects the whole of Europe."

Pisani recalled that, between 2024 and 2025, 32 operational actions were coordinated with the involvement of 50 countries , obtaining concrete results in terms of arrests, drug seizures and asset confiscations.

The Police Chief also highlighted Ukraine's contribution, which continues to participate in investigative activities despite the ongoing conflict, calling it a sign of the strength of European cooperation.

New operations against migrant and cocaine trafficking

Among the initiatives illustrated by Vittorio Pisani is the new Central Med operation , dedicated to combating migrant trafficking.

For the first time, Libya and Turkey , considered strategic partners along the main migratory routes in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, are also participating on a permanent basis.

The goal is to hit:

• criminal organizations that manage human trafficking;
• the digital platforms used to organize clandestine departures;
• illegal financial flows linked to traffickers.

Also in the drug trafficking sector, a new European operation dedicated to combating international cocaine trafficking will begin on July 21 , with strengthened cooperation between Italy and Albania.

Europol: "We must dismantle criminal ecosystems."

Europol's acting Executive Director has called high-risk criminal networks a major threat to European security.

According to Europol, these organizations:

• they are highly adaptable;
• they use advanced technologies;
• They are able to regenerate quickly even after major police operations.

For this reason, the European Director explained, the response must be increasingly coordinated.

“When European law enforcement agencies join forces, we don't just arrest criminals, we dismantle the criminal ecosystems that support them.”

Austria: "Only international cooperation can stop them."

Franz Ruf, Director General of the Austrian Public Security Agency, also emphasized that the success of the EMPACT project is due to the collaboration between police forces, government authorities, European agencies, and academia.

According to Ruf, the findings demonstrate that only strong international partnerships can effectively counter high-risk criminal networks.

Ireland: New EU Presidency Targets Criminal Networks

Irish Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis , EMPACT National Coordinator for Ireland, confirmed that the fight against organised crime is a priority for the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Mapping criminal networks will allow us to identify high-value investigative targets and focus resources on the most dangerous criminal groups.

The main coordinated operations

Over the two-year period, numerous international operations were carried out, including:

• Illegal Gambling, against illegal online gambling;
• Yuzuk, aimed at Russian-speaking criminal groups and international money laundering;
• Zopf II, against criminal motorcycle gangs linked to the Western Balkans;
• Gres Sur, dedicated to drug trafficking along the South Atlantic route.

From 2026 the name changes: MTCNI is born

With the new 2026-2029 cycle , the HRCN priority will evolve to take on the new name Most Threatening Criminal Networks and Individuals (MTCNI).

The new program further expands its scope to include the main economic and financial crime phenomena linked to criminal organizations.

Belgium and Italy will remain the main drivers of the priority, alternating in leadership.

For the two-year period 2026-2027, leadership will be entrusted to Belgium.

From January 2028 , coinciding with the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Italy will once again assume operational coordination of activities until December 2029.

A European response to a global threat

The experience of the EMPACT 2024-2025 cycle confirms that the fight against organized crime can no longer be addressed exclusively at the national level.

Criminal organizations today operate across global networks, exploit digital technologies, move huge amounts of money between cash and cryptocurrencies, infiltrate the legal economy, and adapt rapidly to geopolitical shifts.

For this reason, the European Union is increasingly focusing on a model based on intelligence sharing, strategic analysis, joint operations, and common training, strengthening the role of Europol and the main European agencies.

The new MTCNI 2026-2029 cycle will represent the evolution of this approach, with the aim of identifying and targeting not only individual illicit trafficking rings, but the most dangerous criminal networks and the individuals who constitute their decision-making centres, further consolidating international cooperation in protecting the safety of European citizens.